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Big investment from tech giants and other multinationals is to be welcomed but Ireland needs to underpin its domestic economy to weather potential storms ahead

The news that Facebook has acquired 14 acres in Ballsbridge on the south side of Dublin is another shot in the arm for Ireland’s booming economy.

The move to the former AIB headquarters will allow the social media giant to add 5,000 jobs to the 2,200 people it already employs here. It’s a serious long-term commitment to this country by one of the world’s leading blue-chip firms.

That, of course, is to be hugely welcomed but it is the job of the government to always look around the next corner for potential problems. While it should not in any way diminish the feel-good positivity surrounding Facebook’s announcement, the development only underlines a potentially worrying trend: Ireland’s huge dependency on multinationals.

It is fantastic that companies…

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